http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/ne...er-play/nTFDy/
Former Florida GOP leaders say voter suppression was reason they pushed new election law
Former GOP chair, governor - both on outs with party - say voter fraud wasn’t a concern, but reducing Democratic votes was.

By Dara Kam and John Lantigua

Quote:

Former Republican Party of Florida Chairman Jim Greer says he attended various meetings, beginning in 2009, at which party staffers and consultants pushed for reductions in early voting days and hours.

“The Republican Party, the strategists, the consultants, they firmly believe that early voting is bad for Republican Party candidates,” Greer told The Post. “It’s done for one reason and one reason only. … ‘We’ve got to cut down on early voting because early voting is not good for us,’ ” Greer said he was told by those staffers and consultants.

“They never came in to see me and tell me we had a (voter) fraud issue,” Greer said. “It’s all a marketing ploy.”

Quote:

Wayne Bertsch, who handles local and legislative races for Republicans, said he knew targeting Democrats was the goal.

“In the races I was involved in in 2008, when we started seeing the increase of turnout and the turnout operations that the Democrats were doing in early voting, it certainly sent a chill down our spines. And in 2008, it didn’t have the impact that we were afraid of. It got close, but it wasn’t the impact that they had this election cycle,” Bertsch said, referring to the fact that Democrats picked up seven legislative seats in Florida in 2012 despite the early voting limitations.

Quote:

“The sad thing about that is yes, there is prejudice and racism in the party but the real prevailing thought is that they don’t think minorities will ever vote Republican,” he said. “It’s not really a broad-based racist issue. It’s simply that the Republican Party gave up a long time ago ever believing that anything they did would get minorities to vote for them.”

But a GOP consultant who asked to remain anonymous out of fear of retribution said black voters were a concern.

“I know that the cutting out of the Sunday before Election Day was one of their targets only because that’s a big day when the black churches organize themselves,” he said.

Frankly, I think early voting is dumb. Everyone should vote on the same day, unless they have a valid reason for not being able to be in their state. Like work or military or some medical need to be in another state. Then issue an absentee ballot for people like that. There's no need for all these multiple schedules. Then have all this reporting on who is ahead in early voting. Just leave it alone for election day. If that's bad for Democrats then that says something about their base. If blacks can vote on a Sunday then they can vote on election day too.

Here's another thing: If Rs are targeting minorities or those unlikely to have a high motivation to vote, by not supporting early voting, then the Democrats are providing special treatment to the same to gain advantage. So what's the difference here? None.

Here's another thing: If Rs are targeting minorities or those unlikely to have a high motivation to vote, by not supporting early voting, then the Democrats are providing special treatment to the same to gain advantage. So what's the difference here? None.

The difference is that one group is promoting the exercising of a fundamental freedom, and another group is trying to stop the exercising of that fundamental freedom.

I guess it depends on how important you think fundamental freedoms are.

There are no laws that bar pastors from being involved in politics. Pastors can urge their parishioners to vote for certain values.

It's not against the law for a pastor to tell his parishioners who to vote for. However, the church is supposed to lose its tax exempt status in a situation like that. Tax exempt organizations are prohibited from participating in any campaign activity for or against political candidates.

It's not against the law for a pastor to tell his parishioners who to vote for. However, the church is supposed to lose its tax exempt status in a situation like that. Tax exempt organizations are prohibited from participating in any campaign activity for or against political candidates.

Saying that and seeing it enforced are two very different things.

Nobody loses their tax exempt status for telling their parishioners to vote for certain values.